Location Details

Novice Birding Class

It is easy to enjoy the antics and bright colors of the backyard birds at our feeders, birdbaths, and landscaping- it’s considerably more challenging to learn to distinguish the sparrows from the finches and then to narrow down bird identification to a single species. Learning your birds enriches all of your outdoor experiences and enhances your awareness of our beautiful coastal environments.

Becoming a better birder takes time and effort: birders must become comfortable with field marks, habitats, behavioral features, and seasonal fluctuations that impact which birds are likely to be present in a particular place. Simply learning to use binoculars, spotting scope, and field guides effectively can be a challenge, but once you are able to use them well, narrowing down an unidentified bird becomes much easier.

We're excited to announce the dates of our popular five-week birding class designed for novice birders. Each of the five sessions will focus on a particular group of birds and habitat, making this field-based and hands-on class ideal for new birders to get a lot of practice using binoculars, scopes, field guides, and other clues and characteristics.

The Novice Birding Class is a great way to increase your enjoyment of the outdoors, to develop a lifelong skill, and to spend time learning with experts in the field. Our class is open to ages 12 and above, though we do ask that a parent or guardian participate along with anyone younger than 18.

The cost of the class is $100/person for non-members ($90/person for members) and spans 10 weeks, meeting every other Saturday from 9 a.m. til 12 p.m. There will be two cohorts (A and B) for the class, and participants are able to switch weeks to accommodate their schedules. Participation is limited to provide the most hands- on experience as possible.

Pre-registration and payment are required by Wednesday, January 24th for participation in the 2018 Novice Birding Class.

Please contact Programs Manager Erin Parker with any questions or to register at eparker@audubon.org or 228.475.0825 ext. 2.